Milestone in Internet History as RIPE NCC Begins Allocating Last Blocks of IPv4 Addresses

Due diligence, transparency and fairness a priority

Deployment of IPv6 critical to continued Internet growth

Amsterdam, 14 September 2012 – The RIPE NCC, the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, today confirms it is now allocating IPv4 from the last /8[1] – the final block of 16.8 million IPv4 addresses, allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to each of the five RIRs in February 2011.

Axel Pawlik, Managing Director of the RIPE NCC said, “When the Internet was first designed it seemed highly unlikely that IP address space would ever be an issue. However, the limitations of the pool of IPv4 address space became clear over time, and in the last few years we have been monitoring supplies closely, preparing ourselves and all stakeholders for the next stage of the Internet. Reaching the last /8 underlines the importance of IPv6 deployment, which is vital to the future growth of the Internet.”

Pawlik continued, “More than 50% of our members already have an IPv6 address space allocation, but there is still a long way to go before we can say that everyone is prepared. IPv6 vastly increases the amount of address space, helping to enable an exciting turning point in society as Internet connected devices become increasingly more sophisticated and commonplace. IPv6 sets a firm foundation for guaranteeing that the future Internet remains reachable for all.”

“The RIPE NCC and its members have always held due diligence, transparency and fairness as top priorities. As the supply of available IPv4 address space has become scarce, these priorities, which underlie the RIPE NCC’s management of critical Internet resources, are more important than ever. By following the policies devised and agreed by the Internet community, the careful management of remaining IPv4 address space has been assured.”

Since May 2012, the RIPE NCC has regularly published an interactive graph showing the amount of IPv4 address space available for allocation. Now that the RIPE NCC is allocating from the last /8, organisations applying for IPv4 address space are subject to IPv4 last /8 evaluation procedures. These processes are clearly laid out in the official policy developed by the RIPE community: each LIR can receive one /22 (1,024 IPv4 addresses) upon application for IPv4 resources. In order to obtain this /22 allocation, the LIR must already have an IPv6 allocation and have a demonstrated need for IPv4 address space.

Founded in 1992, the RIPE NCC is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation that supports the infrastructure of the Internet. The most prominent activity of the RIPE NCC is to act as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) providing global Internet resources and related services to a current membership base of around 8,000 members in over 75 countries.

These members consist mainly of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunication organisations and large corporations located in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.

As one of the world’s five RIRs, the RIPE NCC performs a range of critical functions including:

The reliable and stable allocation of Internet number resources (IPv4, IPv6 and AS Number resources)

The responsible storage and maintenance of this registration data

The provision of an open, publicly accessible database where this data can be accessed

The RIPE NCC also provides a range of technical and coordination services for the Internet community including the operation of K-root (one of the 13 root name servers).

As a result of its established position in the Internet industry, the RIPE NCC has played an important role in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), European Union (EU) workshops and government briefings on key issues in the current Internet landscape.

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